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“Is one especially patriotic if one drinks 1776 tea in the morning? Or would it have to be drunk on July 4 to get the patriotic points? It is a silly name for a tea.
The ingredients...”
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“My tea to go for the day…… Not a bad blend if you like strawberry and maple flavor. I have also purchased this at The Whistling Kettle. Short steep recommended. Probably better with...”
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2 Tasting Notes

Is one especially patriotic if one drinks 1776 tea in the morning? Or would it have to be drunk on July 4 to get the patriotic points? It is a silly name for a tea.

The ingredients don’t seem to match what I think of when I think of revolutionary history either: strawberry, maple, Assam, Ceylon, and Kenyan teas.

None of them are even the teas tossed into Boston Harbor, which consisted of 240 chests of Bohea, 15 of Congou, 10 of Souchong (all black teas), 60 of Singlo, and 15 of Hyson (both green teas). Green tea accounted for about 22% of the shipments’ total volume, and 30% of the value. Now if someone wanted to create a Boston Tea Party blend in honor of the event in 1773, those are the teas to blend.

But I’m delaying telling you about this tea. Either I brewed it too long or it is naturally this bitter. There is a strong strawberry taste similar to Marco Polo. I don’t taste the maple. In truth, I’m not anxious to taste anything more from this tea.

I’m married to a history professor so any history skills I have are just the product of rubbing against his skills. (Which sounds like it should be more fun than it actually is.)

In this case, I knew that the colonists couldn’t have been using Kenyan tea (because it hadn’t been planted there yet) and knew that the tea of choice in the colonies was Bohea since it makes an appearance in several poems and works of literature from that period. Since I was miffed at the tea for being ahistorical in ways I knew were wrong and for being bitter to me, I just looked up the exact composition of the cargo using the great Google. So I’m less impressive than I might first appear.

Carolyn, your explanation of the Boston Tea Party’s shenanigans was awesome. I’ve been wondering what the teas were that were dumped into the harbor for a long time, but I never took the time to research! Thanks for the info!

My tea to go for the day…… Not a bad blend if you like strawberry and maple flavor. I have also purchased this at The Whistling Kettle. Short steep recommended. Probably better with sweetener. Milk optional. I liked my sample, but am now undecided on buying more when what I have is gone. Maybe my palate for tea is growing up a little?